


Between Your Sword and Mine

by Akiko_Natsuko



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Established Relationship, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Magic, Mind Control, Missions Gone Wrong, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 00:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17798021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “Erza.”It was little more than a whisper of sound, and for a second, she was convinced that she had imagined it because there was no shift in her girlfriend’s expression. Then Kagura blinked, and there it was, the spark that made her who she was, and Erza smiled, even as she felt herself beginning to fall.





	Between Your Sword and Mine

    There was a rush that came from fighting side by side with Kagura, and more than once Erza would find herself temporarily distracted as she watched her girlfriend dance, because that was the only way she could describe it. While her own fighting style held a certain amount of grace, she relied a lot more on power than Kagura did, although she knew better than anyone the strength behind the deceptively gentle movements. However, the other woman seemed to dance, the currently sheathed Archenemy less a weapon than an extension of herself, as it moved in perfect counterpoint to Kagura’s motions as she moved between their opponents, leaving a trail of unconscious bodies in her wake, and untouched as she came to a halt and glanced across at Erza.

“This is the last time you choose our job.” It was a familiar complaint, the tiniest quirk of Kagura’s lips, the most emotion she would allow herself while surrounded by enemies telling Erza that she didn’t really mean it. Although she couldn’t blame her girlfriend for saying, as it seemed that the last few jobs, they had taken together had all ended up being longer, and more complicated they needed to be. Or they’d ended up simply outnumbered as they were here, and while she knew that came with the territory with S-Class jobs, their luck did seem especially bad at the moment.

“You’ve said that before,” She pointed out with a chuckle, before whirling and bringing the hilt of her sword down sharply against the temple of the man who had been trying to sneak up behind her.  “Yet here we are.” Kagura huffed at her, stepping out of the way of a firebolt, before turning to face the new threat, but not before she tossed one last comment over her shoulder.

“I’m choosing the next one.”

“Agreed!” Erza called, as she moved to cover Kagura’s back as the next wave of mages washed over them, cresting as they moved together in perfect unison. Kagura, a lethal dancer who wove in and out of Erza’s larger scale attacks, as she requipped over and over, moving to meet each threat in turn, and it wasn’t long until the world beyond the fight had disappeared.

    All there was Kagura at her back, by her side, darting across in front of her or rising to parry a strike she couldn’t. Her own swords a familiar, comforting weight in her hands, dancing in shimmering gold as they changed form according to her will. Block. Parry. Attack. Requip. Duck and twist, her sword striking down a wizard behind Kagura as her girlfriend did the same for her, and throughout it all there was a rising feeling of exhilaration. She loved her friends and the team that they had built, but there was something different about fighting like this, and for a moment she could almost understand what Kagura meant when she talked about being one with the sword.

Then something shifted.

     The air around them cooled and darkened, a pressure, unlike anything they’d faced from their other opponents so far closing in around them. The sensation wrapped around her, chilling her skin where it touched, and she whirled, seeking out the threat.

Too late.

    She saw the dark cloud, an almost purplish bruise against the clear blue sky that was heading straight towards her, and she was moving, bracing herself for the hit as she realised that she was going to be able to move out of its path in time when there was a blur of movement. Then Kagura was there in front of, crying out her name with a volume that Erza had never heard from the other woman before, as Archenemy sang through the air, a desperate, futile attempt to cut through the magic. “ERZA!” Her voice cut off midway, breaking off in a strangled cry as the world went dark around them, and then it imploded, the air around them squeezing tight and for a long, terrifying moment Erza’s world was lost to white noise.

    When she came back to herself, it was to find that she had been flung a reasonable distance away, the pounding ache that registered as she blinked the white noise away, telling her that it had been a hard landing, although the impact had been lost on her. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself back to her feet and look around, a chill sweeping through her as she took in the crater that had been left behind, and the dark veins that now covered the ground where she had been stood. Half of their assailants had been taken out by the attack as well, their bodies sprawled where they had fallen, and marked by similar black veins, and her heart was in her mouth as she turned, searching desperately for her girlfriend.

   It took her a moment, her attention diverted for a moment by movement on the other side of the crater, as a tall woman, with vivid, viridian hair stepped into view, standing tall and surveying the damage like a queen overseeing her kingdom. Even from here, Erza could feel the pressure of her magic, not quite as intense as before, but close, and lingering around them like a threat and her eyes narrowed, and she kept half her attention on the woman even as she frantically resumed her search for Kagura.

    It wasn’t hard to spot her amongst the destruction, a beacon of white and red, against the darkened ground and Erza’s heart was in her mouth as she realised that Kagura was slumped on her knees and making no attempt to rise.

“Kagura?” Erza called as she immediately darted forward. Snarling as the mages who had also escaped the blast moved into her path, clearly intending to try and stop her and they had no chance to react let alone defend themselves as she requipped, bounding between them with increased speed in her soaring armour, her blade a flash of silver in her wake as she tore through them. “Kagura!”

    The other woman was still on her knees, head bowed, and sword lying abandoned beside her. There was no sign that Kagura had even heard her and forcing back the flicker of fear that always broke through her armour when the other woman was endangered, she sprang between her girlfriend and her assailant, blade steady as she pointed it at the woman. “What did you do to her?” She demanded in a tone that left no room for anything but a straight answer. A tone that would have anyone in the guild crumbling automatically, however, this mage just laughed, eyes alight with vindictive pleasure.

“See for yourself…”

    There was the faintest disturbance in the air behind her, and that was the only warning Erza had before she had to lung to the side to avoid the sword that had just cut through the air where she had been standing. Dropping into a defensive stance, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing as Kagura stalked towards her, Archenemy ready at her side. She was moving with a different kind of grace now, no longer a dancer, but a predator looking for the kill and Erza took a cautious step backwards, even as she lowered her blade slightly. “Kagura?”  She knew even as the question left her lips that it wasn’t going to be enough because the usual calm expression was utterly blank, devoid of the little ticks and quirks that she had learned to read, as though she was facing an empty shell rather than the woman she loved.

    However, it was the eyes that terrified her. Empty, as though the spark that made Kagura who she was had been taken and extinguished in that single blow. No, not empty, she realised as the dark gaze followed her nervous movement. They were devoid of anything and everything that she loved about the other woman – the strength, the resolve, the passion hidden beneath the cool exterior – but there was a hunger in that gaze. A bloodlust that sent a shiver down her spine. “Kagura, it’s me. It’s Erza.” She knew that it was pointless, that words alone weren’t going to be enough to break through this spell, but she had to try because this was Kagura. This was the woman who only that morning had slipped her arms around her when she tried to get up, trailing kisses down her shoulder blade to keep her in bed just a little longer. Who had been joking with her only moments before, and who had deliberately moved into the path of the attack that had been meant for her.

    The only answer came in the form of a wordless snarl as Kagura charged, Archenemy a blur in her hands, and Erza drew small comfort from the fact that it was still sheathed, knowing all too well the damage that her girlfriend could do even with that limitation. She twisted to the side, armour lending her speed, as Kagura immediately matched her shift, allowing her to just move out of reach of the blow. However, there was no time for relief, because Kagura was relentless. A whirling dervish focused on one thing.

Her.

    And not in the way that she liked. Worse, as she parried the next blow, refusing to do anything but defend until she got a definite read on what was happening, she caught sight of the dark veins that were slowly creeping up her girlfriend’s arm. It reminded her somewhat of Gray’s markings, which did nothing to ease her growing fear, especially as this wasn’t something Kagura had chosen or could control, but something that had been done to her. Her hesitation cost her, Archenemy breaking through her defences, and drawing a line of blood across her torso that burned with sickening fire, and she pulled back, springing back to put as much distance between them as she could. Unsurprised when Kagura followed, as though drawn to her side by some siren song that only she could hear, and her expression darkened as she flashed a glance across at the mage responsible for this.

_If I can’t fight Kagura…_

    She moved, just as Archenemy flashed towards her once more, and pain lanced through her shoulder, blood beginning to trickle down her arm. However, she didn’t let herself slow. Knowing that if she did, Kagura would be on her, and she would have no choice but to fight the other woman, something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

    The pain when it came, was unexpected and all-consuming and she screamed, as the force of the blow sent of crashing into the ground, her sword spiralling out of her grasp, landing out of reach. For a second, all she could do was lie there and try to breathe. There was a sharp, throbbing in her side that seemed to burn with each unsteady gasp, and she knew even before she reached out with trembling fingers that she was bleeding, a strangled gasp escaping as she brushed against the new wound, realising that it was deep as she did.

_Kagura. You have to help Kagura._

     It became a mantra in the back of her mind, giving her the strength to push herself up onto hands and knees, and then to her feet, her armour crumbling as she wavered where she was stood. _What the hell happened?_ She glanced towards where her target had been, blanching as she realised that there was no sign of the woman and that the pressure was gone, and while she was cursing at the thought that her prey had slipped away with Kagura unavenged, there was relief as well. At least until she turned to seek out Kagura, her heart a painful, staccato beat in her chest as she saw the source of her current state, feeling a familiar sense of awe as she took in the unsheathed glory of Archenemy, even as she swallowed. She had taken a blow from it before, but then she had been fighting in earnest, and she had been prepared, whereas today she had been unprepared, naively hoping that Kagura’s reluctance to unsheath unless absolutely necessary would have held true.

“Kagura…”

      The blankness hadn’t faded, even with the other mage’s disappearance and Erza could see Kagura tensing, dropping into the familiar stance that came before a lunge, and she swallowed, knowing that she had all of a second to decide what to do. If she fought, then she had to end it quickly, because her body couldn’t take much more, especially with her magic already somewhat depleted from the previous fighting, and she would have to take Kagura down hard, and pray they could find a way to reverse whatever had been done to her. Or…

     She felt, more than saw Kagura move – a deadly surge of blind hunger dashing towards her, and she closed her eyes and made her choice. Her magic pulsed around her, golden light flaring, as she shed her armour and spread her arms. _Kagura, I believe in you. Come back to me._ She wasn’t aware that she was holding her breath until it was forced out of her in a scream as Archenemy struck home, the pain of the earlier attack paling in comparison. _Kagura…_ She forced her eyes open, ignoring the way the world blurred and darkened around her, breath catching as she found her girlfriend’s surprisingly close to hers, the dark eyes still painfully blank as Kagura stared at her, Archenemy still pinning Erza in place.

“K-Kagura…” Her voice cracked and broke, the word creeping out, and she could taste copper of her lips as she swallowed again. “Come back to me.” It was a plea, the only thing she had left o her now, and for a long moment there was nothing but blankness, and she could feel despair creeping in with the haze over her thoughts that was darkening by the second. _Please…_

“Erza.”

     It was little more than a whisper of sound, and for a second, she was convinced that she had imagined it because there was no shift in her girlfriend’s expression. Then Kagura blinked, and there it was, the spark that made her who she was, and Erza smiled, even as she felt herself beginning to fall. Fresh agony lanced through her as Archenemy was removed, and the ground rushed up to meet her, and she nearly loses consciousness there and then, but there was a frantic voice somewhere above her, and then warm hands were cradling her, drawing her back to the present. “Erza…” What had been a void of emotion only seconds before, was now anything but, as Kagura’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and Erza could see the weight of guilt and realisation settling in.

“You came back to me,” Erza whispered, trying to head off those emotions, managing a smile through the pain as she reached up to brush trembling fingers across Kagura’s cheek just as the first tear fell. She caught it, wiping away the next one that followed and the next, even as she felt her eyes beginning to drift shut. “You came back,” she repeated faintly, needing to get the words out before it was too late. “T-that’s all that matters….”

“Erza? Erza!”


End file.
